Cooking Basics: It's the Little Things.

photo by mrjoro / flickr


I believe a good cooking philosophy is this: fundamentals first, or metaphorically, you can't build a good house on a bad foundation. It's a simple idea but it works, and even professionals forget it.

For example, I was in a nice restaurant the other day and ordered a large salad with chicken for lunch. As it was being served, the greens looked beautiful and the chicken just right. When I began eating my salad I noticed immediately that the plate and the greens, that is the salad itself, were at room temperature . . . in the summer. So all the expensive ingredients added up to a bad meal because the easiest part of it, keeping the lettuce cold, was considered unimportant. Who likes warm lettuce?

Same thing with soup. I had a bowl of soup last week at the Corner Bakery. It too was room temperature or a little above. I know they can't serve it scolding hot, like I prefer, but barely warm enough to consider warm just isn't right.

So you want to be a good cook? Get the little things right first, then move on to the more complex. In Asian food, it's knowing how to cook rice, something I can not do very well, even though my wife does it perfectly every time, and has showed me how to do it. In Italian food, get the pasta right (I can do that). If it's too sticky, too squishy, or cold, I don't care about how good the sauce is you have bad spaghetti.

Breakfast? Eggs, should be served very hot, but not dried and over-cooked, which is why at good buffets they are made to order. A good sandwich starts with good bread. Add a good meat and cheese. Guess what? You have a great sandwich.

It's really pretty simple. Keep the hot foods hot, the cold foods cold, have good ingredients and the tastes take care of themselves. That's my untrained view of things.

Now there is one more ingredient to a good meal, and it is an old proverb, "better a morsel of bread in peace than a feast with dissension." No matter what the food tastes like, you can't have a good meal with people who don't get along, and conversely, even poorly prepared food is enjoyable when the diners enjoy each others company (especially with a good supply of wine).
Corollary and final thought: gratefulness improves everything.

If the food is cooked in a home, and I am a guest, it all tastes good. Food critics are for restaurants not homes.